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MP - DHMFL: Detroit Lions

So I'm playing as the Lions in the Dean Huston Memorial Football League (web page: http://dhmfl.phyrebird.com/). The initial files were released last weekend and the first preseason stage file is due tonight. Here are some initial impressions of the team.

Front Office Football 2004
Detroit Lions Roster, Contract View

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  Player                #   Pos   Start OnTm   EndCnt Exp  Cap Cost        Save if Rls

Detmer, Ty              14  QB          2001   2003   10   $760,000        $530,000   

##McMahon, Mike         8   QB          2001   2003   3    $430,000        $160,000   

Harrington, Joey        3   QB    QB    2002   2007   2    $2,630,000      $70,000    

JohnSy, Joel            17  QB          2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0

Detmer is a marginally serviceable backup who will be replaced ASAP. McMahon is worthless. JohnSy is raw, but could become a decent backup QB. The real story here, obviously, is Harrington. He has all the potential I'd want, but is surprisingly untrained at this point. It may be a painful couple of seasons while he comes up to speed.

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Stewart, James          34  RB          2000   2004   9    $5,070,000      $3,020,000 

Bryson, Shawn           24  RB          2003   2003   4    $480,000        $250,000   

Gary, Olandis           33  RB    RB    2003   2004   4    $530,000        $300,000   

##Cobourne, Avon        31  RB          2003   2004   1    $230,000        $0

Crap, all crap. Would trade 'em if I thought anyone would want them. None of them should really be more than 3rd string. Stewart's contract marks him as definite cut-meat.

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Schlesinger, Cory       30  FB    FB    1995   2006   9    $1,210,000      $520,000   

Traylor, Marc           44  FB          2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0

Schlesinger is a very nice blocking back. I'd like a FB who could contribute more on 3rd down, but given dire needs of this team at other postions, Schlesinger will probably be the starter here for a number of seasons. Traylor ain't much.

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Banta, Brad             89  TE          2001   2005   10   $660,000        $430,000   

Ricks, Mikhael          86  TE    TE    2002   2005   6    $1,600,000      $970,000   

##Fitzsimmons, Casey    82  TE          2003   2004   1    $230,000        $0         

Owens, John             83  TE          2002   2004   2    $450,000        $70,000

Ricks is a marginal starter, Owens has some fair potential. Not too excited about Banta or Fitzsimmons.

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Schroeder, Bill         84  FL          2002   2005   7    $1,300,000      $450,000   

Anderson, Scotty        88  FL          2001   2003   3    $430,000        $160,000   

Rogers, Charles         80  FL    FL    2003   2006   1    $2,280,000      $750,000   

##Jefferson, Shawn      87  SE          2003   2003   13   $760,000        $530,000   

Hakim, Az-Zahir         81  SE    SE    2002   2006   6    $2,150,000      $870,000   

##Drummond, Eddie       18  SE          2002   2003   2    $310,000        $80,000

Rogers, unlike Harrington, is ready to rock from day one. Starting talent already, with potential to be a star. Unfortunately there's nothing to go with him. Schroeder, Hakim, Anderson, Jefferson, all suck.

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Raiola, Dominic         51  C     C     2001   2004   3    $740,000        $180,000   

##Cunningham, Skip      55  C           2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0         

DePree, Tom             56  C           2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0

The centers are all completely and utterly worthless and don't even have the potential to become much more than worthless.

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Beverly, Eric           79  LG    LG    1997   2003   6    $1,180,000      $890,000   

##Lovelady, Josh        70  LG          2002   2003   4    $450,000        $220,000   

Bermudez, Bernard       74  LG          2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0         

Brown, Ray              61  RG    RG    2002   2003   16   $760,000        $530,000

Beverly can start if I'm really desperate (which I am ;) ). Ray Brown is old. So old I call him up every Monday to make sure he hasn't retired yet. But he's got great skills. Could be a pro-bowler this season. Will try to deal him off to a contender where he can do some good. Lovelady, Bermudez, not worth much.

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Backus, Jeff            76  LT    LT    2001   2005   3    $1,360,000      $160,000   

##Rogers, Victor        71  LT          2002   2004   2    $310,000        $70,000    

##Andrews, Bucky        63  LT          2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0         

Joyce, Matt             75  RT          2001   2005   8    $960,000        $430,000   

McDougle, Stockar       73  RT    RT    2000   2004   4    $1,310,000      $220,000

For the most part this team ended up considerably worse than I'd hoped for. This was one bright spot though. Backus and McDougle are both very talented young players. Signing them to extensions is a major priority. Joyce is a good backup, and will probably start somewhere on the line this year if he doesn't get traded.

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Jett, John              19  P           1997   2003   11   $1,000,000      $580,000   

Hanson, Jason           4   K           1992   2004   12   $1,100,000      $670,000

Kickers, blah, who cares ;) .....

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Porcher, Robert         91  LDE   LDE   1992   2004   12   $6,840,000      $2,270,000 

DeVries, Jared          95  LDE         1999   2005   4    $930,000        $420,000   

Hall, James             96  RDE         2000   2003   4    $1,320,000      $1,090,000 

Edwards, Kalimba        98  RDE   RDE   2002   2005   2    $780,000        $130,000

Porcher is old and is pulling down some serious money, but he's good. Am considering signing him to an extensions, but am worried about deterioration. DeVries, Hall, Edwards, not good.

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Pritchett, Kelvin       93  LDT         1999   2003   13   $760,000        $530,000   

Wilkinson, Dan          72  LDT   LDT   2003   2006   10   $1,030,000      $430,000   

##Rogers, Shaun         92  RDT         2001   2004   3    $650,000        $180,000   

Redding, Cory           78  RDT   RDT   2003   2005   1    $410,000        $0

Wilkinson is a good pass rusher, and a good starter quality tackle. Pritchett is borderline and can start if needed (which it is ;) ). Cory Redding has surprising potential, and may be moved to DE.

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Holmes, Earl            50  MLB   MLB   2003   2005   8    $1,020,000      $430,000   

Rainer, Wali            58  MLB         2003   2004   5    $770,000        $300,000   

##Davis, James          52  MLB         2003   2005   1    $270,000        $0

Holmes is rock-solid, particularly against the run, probably my best defensive player. Rainer has decent talent too, definitely good enough to start. Given the dearth of talent on this team, two good MLB's means either we trade one or run a 3-4. Holmes was put on the market.

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Williams, Brian         99  SLB         2001   2003   9    $660,000        $430,000   

Bailey, Boss            97  SLB   SLB   2003   2007   1    $760,000        $90,000    

Cambini, Justin         94  SLB         2003   2003   1    $230,000        $0         

##Gooch, Jeff           59  WLB         2002   2003   8    $1,130,000      $570,000   

Green, Barrett          54  WLB   WLB   2000   2003   4    $750,000        $220,000

I am not terribly impressed with Boss Bailey. He's got decent potential, but he's undeveloped. Also his run-stopping ability (real and potential) is not what I'd hope for. Green has the potential to be a backup. Williams Cambini and Gooch suck.

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Smith, Otis             23  LCB   LCB   2003   2003   12   $760,000        $530,000   

Molden, Alex            40  LCB         2003   2003   8    $660,000        $430,000   

##Babers, Roderick      26  LCB         2003   2005   1    $230,000        $0         

Bly, Dre'               32  RCB   RCB   2003   2007   5    $3,300,000      $1,770,000 

Wyrick, Jimmy           27  RCB         2000   2003   4    $490,000        $260,000   

Cash, Chris             29  RCB         2002   2003   2    $300,000        $70,000

The CB's are all crappy. Really crappy. Dre' Bly compounds his crappiness by having a 5 yr contract with loads of guaranteed money. Bastard. :mad: Will do a house-cleaning here next off-season.

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Harris, Corey           25  SS          2002   2004   12   $970,000        $530,000   

##Walker, Bracy         28  SS          2002   2003   10   $660,000        $430,000   

Walker, Brian           45  SS    SS    2002   2006   8    $1,400,000      $770,000   

Holt, Terrence          42  FS    FS    2003   2005   1    $270,000        $0

Brian Walker is pretty good. Terrence Holt may become a borderline starter. Corey Harris can start if I'm desperate (which, of course, I am :p ).

Essentially my offense consists of one undeveloped QB, a good blocking FB, a rookie WR, and two decent tackles. My defense is a couple of capable, older D-linemen, couple of middle backers, and a safety. Looks like a loooong season to me. The good news:

Salary Cap: $75,000,000
Cap Room: $17,020,000
Maximum for New Player: $17,250,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $180,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $180,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $52,280,000

I've got a lot of cap room, and plenty of dead weight that I can cut to generate more (see James Stewart). I ought to be able to make a huge jump next season. By the time Harrington has developed (2-3 seasons) this team will be ready to contend for the title.

After taking over the team one of my first executive actions was to put out a trade list, putting G Ray Brown, T Matt Joyce, DT Kelvin Pritchett, and MLB Earl Holmes on the block.

Shortly after making that list public I started to have some serious thoughts about running a 3-4 defense (I'm generally a 4-3 guy) and wasn't so sure I wanted to trade Holmes. But an offer came in from KC: RB Larry Johnson (KC's 2003 1st round pick) and a 3rd in 2004 for Holmes.

As noted above, we're hurtin for RB's. Johnson doesn't run with great power, and he's not very good on 3rd downs, but he's otherwise a great back. Tremendous speed and elusiveness, reads plays well, has the potential to become a good receiver out of the backfield. But he's also a rookie, so he may not pan out to be as good as he looks. The deciding factor here was the contract. I had Holmes signed to a very reasonable 3 yr, $4.6m contract. Johnson was signed for 7 years for (factoring out his bonus, which KC paid) $5.6m. If this kid pans out, we've got a franchise back for the next 7 years at under a million a year. Sweet. We accepted.

From the Chiefs' perspective, they unloaded a guy who was going to be sitting behind Priest Holmes (also signed to a 7 year contract) and picked up the last piece of their defensive puzzle. They've got a very strong team and should go far in the playoffs. We'll check in on Holmes at the end of the season to see how it pans out.

This is a big first step for this team, and, while we're still going to get our asses kicked this season, gets things moving in the right direction. We've now got the three cornerstone players for our offense: Harrington, Johnson, and Rogers.

Tonight is the first week of preseason games. We don't play. The only players in the FA pool right now are undrafted rookies. I put in a few offers to promising ones this week, and also made contract extension offers to a few of my players. I'm anxious to see how those turn out.

And as for the other guys on my trade list. I've had a couple of nibbles for Joyce and one for Brown. I'm trying to push forward on the Brown one, but I'm still undecided as to whether or not to dump Joyce. My starting OT's are set, but Joyce can start elsewhere on the line this year, and will be nice to have as a backup in future years. My general feeling right now is to keep him unless somebody makes an offer I can't refuse. Additionally, with Holmes gone I will be less likely to trade Prichett as I will definitely be playing a 4-3, and will probably need him to start at DT.

Our first week has come and gone. No big news except for my trade with the Chiefs. I signed a few rookie FA's to 1-yr deals. Ty Detmer, James Stewart, Shawn Bryson, John Owens, Eric Beverly, Kelvin Pritchett, and Chris Cash signed low cost contract extensions. LB Barrett Green rejected a 3 year, $3.81m offer.

We have our first preseason game next week, at home against Pittsburgh. They're weak at QB and RB, but the rest of the team should be plenty to rip us to shreds. All of my veteran starters (all 5 of them :rolleyes: ) are inactive to let the younger guys get some experience.

I am making significant contract extension bids on RT Stockar McDougle and MLB Wali Rainer this week. I'll take another shot at Green too. Ray Brown will almost certainly be traded this week.

Around the league, Green Bay knocked off Kansas City 26-24 on the strength of two first-half Brett Favre touchdown passes. Earl Holmes had 2 tackles and an assist for the Chiefs. In Tampa, the Bucs score 5 sacks on Pennington and Testaverde en route to pasting the Jets, 30-10.

There were no other trades the past week. Indy tried to tie up Peyton Manning before his contract ends, but he rejected their 7-yr, $95m offer. The Raiders attempted to extend the contracts of everyone but their waterboy (who is already locked into a 10-yr deal). Rich Gannon and Barrett Robbins turned them down, but most everyone else signed, including Charles Woodson who signed a 3 yr, $2.8m deal! Baltimore extended CB Chris McAlister to a 4-yr, $18.6m contract.

Copied from a post I made on the DHMFL forum

I'll be going through and previewing each division in the next week or two. Today we'll get things kicked off with the AFC East.. (KPWOYC = Key Players With One Year remaining on Contract)

Buffalo Bills
GM: AI
Cap Space: $13.8m
KPWOYC: FB Sam Gash, CB Antoine Winfield
Review:
Drew Bledsoe is a solid, if unspectacular, veteran QB. Travis Henry is a good young back, quick, has breakaway speed, and decent receiver out of the backfied. They have strong blockers at TE and FB. Fair receivers. The offensive line, led by tackle Mike Williams is young and has loads of potential. This offense isn't going to bowl anyone over, but if the linemen develop quickly the skill players are good enough to do some damage. They've got a great rookie at defensive end in Chris Kelsay, and Pat Williams and Sam Adams are very talented defensive tackles. The linebackers are the strength of the team. MLB London Fletcher and WLB Takeo Spikes are very good players, and SLB Jeff Posey is pretty decent as well. Nate Clements is young, but could become a shut-down cover corner. Lawyer Milloy is one of the league's best at strong safety, and they have two good free safeties, one of whom will likely be the nickel back. The defense is solid, and the offense has some potential. If the ball bounces right they could may a run at the playoffs. They have very few free agents to worry about for next year and are in good shape cap-wise.
Projected Record: 8-8

Miami Dolphins
GM: Nwobhm
Cap Space: $9.9m
KPWOYC: DE Rob Burnett, G Jamie Nails
Review:
Jay Fiedler has the potential to be a pretty good QB, but surprisingly, given his experience, is still a bit green. Ricky Williams is a pimp at RB, one of the top two or three halfbacks in the league. Rob Conrad and Randy McMichael give the Dolphins a lot of talent at FB and TE. Both are effecive blockers and good with the ball. The WR position is solid, led by Chris Chambers. They have two decent starters on the OL, C Tim Ruddy and G Jamie Nails, but are raw at the other positions. Jason Taylor is a phenomenal DE, and Rob Burnett can hold down the other end of the line. They've got one good DT in Tim Bowens. Zach Thomas is a very talented run stopping MLB. Junior Seau still has a good year or two left in him, and Miami has a couple of young prospects at OLB, although neither looks outstanding. The Dolphins have probably the secondary in the league with fantastic corners (Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison) and two very good safeties (Sammy Knight and Brock Marion). This is another defense-oriented team. They are solid against the run and will be very difficult to pass against with that secondary. The questions will come on offense. Can Ricky Williams be effective behind that line? Will Jay Fiedler grow into a dangerous QB? With their defense it may not matter. The Dolphins are clearly the favorite in this division. They don't have many good FA's to worry about next year, but the cap will be a problem for them. They've already spend $85m of next year's cap.
Projected Record: 11-5

New England Patriots
GM: Vinatieri for Prez
Cap Space: $6.1m
KPWOYC: G Mike Compton, DE Anthony Pleasant, DE Bobby Hamilton, DT Ted Washington
Review:
At QB, Tom Brady is very green, with moderate potential. The Pats don't have a premier HB, but Antowain Smith should get the job done. Fred McCrary is a pretty good FB, and Christian Fauria is adequate at TE. The starting receivers, led by David Patten, are decent, and there are a couple of good prospects working up behind them. The offensive line features a number of talented young players who are not yet ready for prime-time. G Mike Compton is the only good OL at this point. The Pats are loaded with four good defensive ends, led by outstanding first round pick Ty Warren. Their 3-4 defense will be anchored by Ted Washington, who is still decent but looks to be on his way downhill. The linebackers, led by inside backer Roman Phifer are very talented, and New England has great depth here. The secondary features two good players in CB Ty Law and SS Rodney Harrison, but there's not much behind them. 2nd round pick FS Eugene Wilson will be very good once he matures. All in all it's a pretty decent defense. But the offense will definitely struggle. They are lacking a game breaker in the skill positions and the OL doesn't look like it has horsepower for a grind-it-out running game. This team doesn't have a whole lot of cap space, and has a fair number of guys whose contracts come up next year. It's hard to tell if they're coming or going, as they've got a lot of young talent and a lot of older starters. It will be interesting to see which direction they go next season.
Projected Record: 6-10

New Jersey Jets
GM: Archer
Cap Space: $5.0m
KPWOYC: OT Kareem McKenzie
Review:
The offense is directed by Chad Pennington, who is inexperienced but has the potential to be a tremendous QB before he's done. Curtis Martin has seen his better days, but will be adequate at RB. FB Jerald Sowell is a decent run blocker. TE Anthony Becht is a better receiver than blocker. Curtis Conway, Wayne Chrebet, and Santana Moss make a decent trio of receivers. The offensive line, led by outstanding center Kevin Mawae, isn't bad, although they've got a big hole at RG. The defense ends, Shawn Ellis and John Abraham, are pretty good and will only get better. The likely starting DT's are both very young, but will be decent this year, and have a lot of potential. The linebackers, Marvin Jones, Mo Lewis, and Sam Coward, are outstanding veterans. The secondary is pretty mediocre, although Tyrone Carter and Derek Pagel are good prospects at safety. This team fits the theme in the division. The offense lacks a star-power and is led by an inexperienced QB. Their OL is a better than Buffalo or New England. The defense is pretty decent led by a strong linebacking corp, but the DL needs seasoning and the secondary isn't great. Like the Bills, the could make a run at a wild-card if things fall into place.
Projected Record: 7-9